House Gives OK To $982 Billion Short-Term Spending Bill

The House has approved a bill to fund the federal government through the end of September. The $982 billion continuing resolution introduced by Rep. Harold Rogers (R-KY), who heads the Appropriations Committee, would avoid a potential government shutdown on March 27.

The measure provides spending through the end of the current fiscal year, and while it does not undo the "sequestration" cuts, the resolution does allow the Pentagon more room to manage its share of the reductions. It was approved by a vote of 267-151, with 53 Democrats joining Republicans to support the legislation.

As NPR's Tamara Keith reports for our Newscast unit, the measure now heads to the Senate:

"Democrats and the White House have made it clear they don't like this bill because it locks in across-the-board spending cuts and only gives additional budget flexibility to the Defense and Veterans Affairs departments. Senate leaders say they plan to make changes to allow other agencies more flexibility as well. But they aren't planning to undo the sequester cuts, which means a fight that would threaten a government shutdown is unlikely."